Parents favour sons over daughters in Pakistan – Survey

A recently conducted survey has found that parents favour their sons over daughters, in terms of inheritance. The survey was conducted by AGHS, a human rights foundation, on about 600 women from Kasur and Lahore. As per the details revealed, the people who were involved in the survey belonged to varying income & age groups along with different marital status.

Throughout the survey, more than 79 per cent of the daughters agreed that they were not given their due share in inheritance as compared to their brothers while mere 21 per cent denied the considered point. Furthermore, about 73 per cent of the women claimed that they had lower status than men in homes. They also stated that a whooping figure of 91 per cent women wake up before men and even go to bed after them.

The most disappointing part of the survey is that nearly 76 per cent of the interviewed women revealed that notwithstanding the amount of work they do throughout the day and the strenuous efforts that they put in, womenfolk are still not allowed to live lives by their own rules, will and are never allowed to participate in any activity that indulges in significant decision making.

The rights group also revealed that upon asking, half the percentage of the interviewees knew about the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016, 38 per cent were unaware about it, whereas 12 per cent refrained to comment on the matter. When asked about the implications that will be imposed if the law is enacted, 74 per cent agreed that following the act will help reduce violence against women, 49 per cent said that the law should indulge in matrimonial issues to protect women from household violence while 16 per cent did not provide with any answer.